The present invention relates to a treatment agent for solid materials. More specifically, the present invention describes a treatment composition for solid materials which imparts a durable hydrophilicity, antistaticity and microbial resistance to solid materials.
Fungi such as many genera from the order Mucorales as well as Penicillium, Aspergillus and Rhizopus and Trichophyton and bacteria such as E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Corynebacterium, gram-negatives, Bacterium and Micrococcus, etc., proliferate by using as a food source the human perspiration or food or drink which may adhere to solid materials such as shoes, socks, underwear, casual wear, bedclothes such as sheets and covers and the interior materials of airplanes, ships and vehicles, etc. Offensive odors are then emitted.
To eliminate this problem, solid materials have heretofore been treated with organotin compounds, organomercury compounds, halogenated phenols, organocopper compounds, quaternary ammonium salt-containing cationic surfactants or quaternary ammonium salt-containing vinyl polymers, etc. However, these known treatment methods have not entered into widespread use because they exhibit poor durability with respect to washing and have unsatisfactory effects. Also, the treatment process entails problems such as environmental pollution and toxicity. A silane-type quaternary ammonium salt antimicrobial was then developed which has little toxicity for humans and it has received notice.
However, when such a silane-type quaternary ammonium salt is applied to a solid material, it has a very high water repellency and charging characteristic. As a result, it does not exhibit hydrophilicity in the form of water absorption, hygroscopicity or perspiration absorption on shoes, socks, underwear, casual wear, bedclothes and the interior materials of airplanes, ships and vehicles. In addition, solids thus treated become charged with static electricity and are thus easily soiled.
For this reason, in order to improve the hydrophilicity and antistaticity, solid materials such as fibers may be treated with the above-mentioned salt in combination with various hydrophilic surfactants or hydrophilic resins; however, the flexibility or lubricity of solid materials treated in this fashion will be degraded and these types of surfactants and resins, being easily washed off, are not durable.